Marks v. Smith
Marks v. Smith
Opinion of the Court
SECTION: “E” (2)
ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants.
BACKGROUND
This is a case brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On or about October 23, 2014, upon leaving her employment, Plaintiff, Jennifer Marks, alleges she stopped at Acadia Gas Station in Slidell, Louisiana to purchase a pack of cigars.
The Plaintiff alleges Corporal Neck conducted “an illegal and unconstitutional full body cavity search at the traffic stop which amount to a sexual assault.”
The Defendants’ accounts, however, differ significantly from the Plaintiffs. Deputy Hyneman, who observed the search performed by Corporal Neck, provided testimony that the search was a “basic pat down” and Corporal Neck did not search the Plaintiffs body cavities.
The Plaintiff filed this lawsuit, bringing claims against the St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office and Sheriff Randy Smith in his official capacity under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and other state-law causes of action. The Plaintiff also brings claims against Corporal Amore Neck, Deputy Samuel Hyne-man, and Deputy Bryan Steinert in their individual capacities under section 1983 for
Defendant Corporal Amore Neck filed a counterclaim against Marks, alleging the allegation in Marks’s complaint are completely false and rise to the level of defamation.
STANDARD OF LAW
Summary judgment is appropriate only “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
If the dispositive issue is one on which the moving party will bear the burden of persuasion at trial, the moving party “must come forward with evidence which would ‘entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial.’ ”
If the dispositive issue is one on which the nonmoving party will bear the burden of persuasion at trial, the moving party may satisfy its burden of production by either (1) submitting affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of the nonmovant’s claim, or (2) affirmatively demonstrating there is no evidence in the record to establish an essential element of the nonmovant’s claim.
“[U]nsubstantiated assertions are not competent summary judgment evidence. The party opposing summary judgment is required to identify specific evidence in the record and to articulate the precise manner in which that evidence supports the claim. ‘Rule 56 does not impose upon the district court a duty to sift through the record in search of evidence to support a party’s opposition to summary judgment.’ ”
ANALYSIS
In their motion for summary judgment, Defendants seek dismissal of the following: (1) causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and all negligence claims against Sheriff Randy Smith; (2) all state-law claims against Sheriff Randy Smith; (3) claim for lost wages; (4) claims precluded by Heck v. Humphrey, and (5) claims protected by qualified immunity.
“Qualified immunity protects public officials from suit unless their conduct violates a clearly established constitutional right.”
Although qualified immunity is nominally an affirmative defense, “the plaintiff has the burden to negate the defense once properly raised.”
The defendant official must initially plead his good faith and establish that he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority. Once the defendant has done so, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to rebut this defense by establishing that the official’s allegedly wrongful conduct violated clearly established law.32
In this case, because the Defendants have properly invoked the doctrine of qualified immunity,
■ The Court will first determine whether the second prong is met, asking whether the right that was allegedly violated was
I. Clearly Established Law
In this case, the Plaintiff alleges that her Fourth Amendment right to be free of the use. of excessive force was violated when officers performed a. body cavity search on the side of the road during a traffic stop.
The Supreme Court explained “qualified immunity operates to ensure that before they are subjected to suit, officers are on notice that their conduct is unlawful.”
Defendants argue the Plaintiff presents no binding Supreme Court or Fifth Circuit precedent to establish that a body cavity search at a traffic stop is unreasonable.
The incident in this casé occurred on October 23,-2014. By that time, in Bell v. Wolfish, the Supreme Court upheld as reasonable under the Fourth Amendment a federal detention facilities’ requirement that all pretrial detainees expose their body cavities for visual inspection as part of a search conducted after visits with people from outside the facility.
Further, ample persuasive authority with respect to the reasonableness of body cavity searches existed at the time of the incident.
In this case, the alleged body cavity search was performed on the side of a public road, as opposed to being performed at a medical facility or in a private room. “One of the critical, and certainly most obvious, elements in the Bell v. Wolfish balancing inquiry into the reasonableness of a strip search is the place in which it is conducted.”
The Supreme Court’s decision in Bell v. Wolfish, Fifth Circuit precedent, and other persuasive authority clearly established by October of 2014 that no reasonable officer
II. Violation of a Constitutional Right
The Court must now address whether the Plaintiff has “adduced sufficient evidence” to raise a genuine issue of material fact suggesting the Defendants violated a constitutional right. In this case, the Plaintiff alleges claims of excessive force against the Defendants.
“When a plaintiff alleges excessive force during an investigation or arrest, the federal right at issue is the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizures.”
To prevail on her excessive force claims at trial, the Plaintiff would be required to establish that she suffered: “(1) an injury; (2) which resulted directly and only from a use of force that was clearly excessive; and (3) the excessiveness of which was clearly unreasonable.”
The Plaintiff claims there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Defendants’ actions in this case amount to an excessive and clearly unreasonable use of force.
The Defendants, on the other hand, present the depositions of Corporal Neck
Corporal Neck testified she performed a usual pat-down search, “starting] from the head' and ... go[ing] down to the feet.”
On summary judgment, the Court looks at the evidence in the light most favorable to the-non-moving party to determine whether there exists a genuine, issue of material fact. This Court will not make credibility determinations regarding conflicting evidence at the .summary judgment stage, as such a determination is left to the jury.
IT IS ORDERED that the motion for summary judgment with respect to dismissal of Plaintiffs 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against Sheriff Randy Smith in his official capacity is hereby GRANTED. Plaintiffs claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Sheriff Smith in his official capacity and former Sheriff Strain are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion for summary judgment with respect to dismissal of Plaintiffs state-law claims against Sheriff Randy Smith in his official capacity is hereby GRANTED. Plaintiffs state-law claims against Sheriff Smith in his official capacity are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiffs lost wage and economic damage claims is GRANTED. Plaintiffs lost wage and economic damage claims are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiffs claims that are precluded by Heck v. Humphrey is GRANTED. Any claim attempting to collaterally challenge the Plaintiffs conviction for possession of marijuana by contesting the validity of her traffic stop and the search of her vehicle is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion for summary judgment with respect to the qualified immunity of Corporal Amore Neck, Deputy Bryan Steinert, and Deputy Samuel Hyneman in their individual capacities is DENIED.
. R. Doc. 46.
. . R. Doc. 52.
. R. Doc. 2 at ¶ 6.
. Id. at ¶ 5.
. Id. at ¶ 9.
. Id. at ¶ 10.
. Id. atHll.
. R. Doc. 46-4 at 26-27.
. R. Doc. 46-5 at 15-16.
. Although the Plaintiffs Complaint states the officers used excessive force in violation of her Eighth Amendment rights, she appears to have changed her theory to excessive force under the Fourth Amendment in her opposition to the motion for summary judgment. The Court will analyze the Plaintiff’s claim as being brought under the Fourth Amendment.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. DIRECTV Inc. v. Robson, 420 F.3d 532, 536 (5th Cir. 2005).
. Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., 530 F.3d 395, 398 (5th Cir. 2008); see also Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150-51, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000).
. Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994).
. Smith v. Amedisys, Inc., 298 F.3d 434, 440 (5th Cir. 2002).
. Int’l Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally’s, Inc., 939 F.2d 1257, 1263-64 (5th Cir. 1991) (quoting Golden Rule Ins. Co. v. Lease, 755 F.Supp. 948, 951 (D. Colo. 1991)).
. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (Brennan, J., dissenting).
. Id. at 331-32, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 332-33, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Id.
. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 332-33, 333 n.3, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Id.; see also First National Bank of Arizona, 391 U.S. at 289, 88 S.Ct. 1575.
. Ragas v. Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co., 136 F.3d 455, 458 (5th Cir. 1998) (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Forsyth v. Barr, 19 F.3d 1527, 1537 (5th Cir. 1994) and quoting Skotak v. Tenneco Resins, Inc., 953 F.2d 909, 915-16 & n.7 (5th Cir. 1992)).
. R. Doc. 46-1 at 1.
. R. Doc. 52 at 2.
. R. Doc. 46-1 at 29.
. Mace v. City of Palestine, 333 F.3d 621, 623 (5th Cir. 2003). See also Brumfield v. Hollins, 551 F.3d 322, 326 (5th Cir. 2008).
. United States v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259, 270, 117 S.Ct. 1219, 137 L.Ed.2d 432 (1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982).
. Brumfield, 551 F.3d at 326. See also Club Retro, L.L.C. v. Hilton, 568 F.3d 181, 194 (5th Cir. 2009) (citing Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009)).
. Id. (quoting Bazan ex rel. Bazan v. Hidalgo Cnty., 246 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 2001) (“We do not require that an official demonstrate that he did not violate clearly established federal rights; our precedent places that burden upon plaintiffs.”)).
. See R. Docs. 13, 46.
. See Tolan v. Cotton, — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 1861, 1865, 188 L.Ed.2d 895 (2014).
. Brumfield, 551 F.3d at 326 (citing McClendon v. City of Columbia, 305 F.3d 314, 323 (5th Cir. 2002) (en banc)).
. See id.; Ramirez v. Martinez, 716 F.3d 369, 375 (5th Cir. 2013) (citing Brown v. Strain, 663 F.3d 245, 249 (5th Cir. 2011); Pearson, 555 U.S. at 230-33, 129 S.Ct. 808).
. Heaney v. Roberts, 846 F.3d 795, 801 (5th Cir. 2017).
. McClendon v. City of Columbia, 305 F.3d 314, 323 (5th Cir. 2002).
. Poole v. City of Shreveport, 691 F.3d 624, 627 (5th Cir. 2012) (citing Brumfield, 551 F.3d at 326). See also Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 343, 106 S.Ct. 1092, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986); Mendenhall v. Riser, 213 F.3d 226, 230 (5th Cir. 2000).
. See supra note 10.
. Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 739, 122 S.Ct. 2508, 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002).
. Id. at 740, 122 S.Ct. 2508.
. White v. Pauly, — U.S. -, 137 S.Ct. 548, 551, 196 L.Ed.2d 463 (2017) (internal quotations omitted).
. Id. (internal quotations omitted).
. R. Doc. 68 at 5.
. McClendon, 305 F.3d at 329 (citing Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 617, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999)).
. Williams v. Kaufman Cnty., 352 F.3d 994, 1003 (5th Cir. 2003).
. Id.
. Id. (quoting Hope, 536 U.S. at 741, 122 S.Ct. 2508).
. 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979).
. Id. at 559-60, 99 S.Ct. 1861.
. U.S. v. Caldwell, 750 F.2d 341, 343 n.2 (5th Cir. 1984).
. U.S. v. York, 578 F.2d 1036, 1041 (5th Cir. 1978). Fifth Circuit precedent "plainly established [that] ... [a] strip or body cavity search raises serious Fourth Amendment concerns.” Roe v. Tx. Dept of Protective and Regulatory Servs., 299 F.3d 395, 409 (5th Cir. 2002). For additional Fifth Circuit precedent, see, e.g., Elliott v. Lynn, 38 F.3d 188 (5th Cir. 1994) (holding visual body cavity searches conducted in the view of others may be reasonable if there were exigent circumstances); Moore v. Carwell, 168 F.3d 234 (5th Cir. 1999) (holding a strip search of a male prisoner by a female officer in the absence of exigent circumstances could entitle [the plaintiff] to relief for a Fourth Amendment violation”); Oliver v. Scott, 276 F.3d 736, 745 n.13 (5th Cir. 2002) (recognizing that prisoners have a right to bodily privacy that provides limitations on the manner in which searches may be carried out). See also Hamilton v. Kindred, 845 F.3d 659, 662 (5th Cir. 2017) (upholding district court’s finding that plaintiffs had a viable excessive force claim for a body cavity search that occurred on a public roadway).
. See, e.g., Martin v. City of San Antonio, 2006 WL 2062283, at *7 (W.D. Tex. July 25, 2006) (collecting cases).
. Martin, 2006 WL 2062283, at *6.
. 723 F.2d 1263, 1272 (7th Cir. 1983).
. Kraushaar v. Flanigan, 45 F.3d 1040, 1054 n.7 (7th Cir. 1995).
. Chapman v. Nichols, 989 F.2d 393, 395 (10th Cir. 1993).
. Logan v. Shealy, 660 F.2d 1007, 1014 (4th Cir. 1981).
. See R. Doc. 2.
. Tolan, 134 S.Ct. at 1865 (citing Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989)).
. Id, at 1865-66 (citing Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 8, 105 S.Ct. 1694, 85 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985); Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865).
. Deville, 567 F.3d at 167 (quoting Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865); Brosseau v. Haugen, 543 U.S. 194, 201, 125 S.Ct. 596, 160 L.Ed.2d 583 (2004)).
. Graham, 490 U.S. at 396-97, 109 S.Ct. 1865. See also Poole, 691 F.3d at 628; Ontiveros v. City of Rosenberg, 564 F.3d 379, 382 (5th Cir. 2009).
. Ontiveros, 564 F.3d at 382. See also Deville v. Marcantel, 567 F.3d 156, 167 (5th Cir. 2009) (per curiam).
. See Ramirez v. Martinez, 716 F.3d 369, 374 (5th Cir. 2013); Spann v. Rainey, 987 F.2d 1110, 1115 (5th Cir. 1993).
. See R. Doc. 52 at 3.
. R. Doc. 52-2 at 3.
. Id. at 4.
. R. Doc. 46-3.
. ,R. Doc. 46-4.
. R, Doc. 46-4 at 26.
. Id. at 27.
. R. Doc. 46-5 at 15.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at 15-16.
. Delta & Pine Land Co., 530 F.3d at 398.
. To be clear, the Court is not making a determination at this stage that the officers are not entitled to qualified immunity. The Court’s ruling is only that genuine issues of material fact preclude the Court from making such a determination.
. Tolan, 134 S.Ct. at 1866; see also Ougel v. Amite City Police Dept., 352 Fed.Appx. 941, 2009 WL 3698033 (5th Cir. 2009) (fact issue under with respect to qualified immunity precluded summary judgment); Williams v. Bramer, 180 F.3d 699, 704 (5th Cir. 1999) (reversing a district court's grant of qualified immunity on summary judgment when 'officer’s and plaintiff's versions of incident differed); Harper v. Harris County, Tex., 21 F.3d 597, 602 (5th Cir. 1994) (affirming denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity where facts regarding officer’s conduct were in dispute).
. The Fifth Circuit has jurisdiction to review a district court’s denial.of summary judgment with respect to qualified immunity “only to
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jennifer R. MARKS v. Sheriff Randy SMITH, in his Capacity as Sheriff of the Parish of St. Tammany
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published